queens gambit books?

Originally posted by gabinchance
I've been learning the queens gambit of late, and I'm wondering if there are any good books that address this specificly...I have a couple of opening books, but they cover everything briefly.....mostly e4 though....

Pfft! There are so, so many; making a choice is not easy. I'll give you a list which I found on the Web, but... before you actually buy, follow my advice: I've bought so many books quite over my head in the past. Since I learnt my lesson (and wasted a lot of money!), I never buy a book any more, unless it's recommended buy someone who I can trust, or on the recommendation by an independent, critical reviewer (Randy Bauer, John Watson, John Donaldson, Jeremy Silman...). Here's the list:

At www.chessbase.com all on CD-ROM):
* Gauthier: ABC of Chess Openings
* Schipkov: QGAccepted
* Dauton: QGD with 4. Bf4

Books:
* Angus Dunnington: Attacking with 1.d4
* Shaw: Starting out with the Queen's Gambit
* Crough: The QGD
* Marovic: Play the QG
* Wall: 500 QG miniatures Vol. III
* Ward: QGA
* Watson: 4.Nc3 in the QGA & the Slav
* Sadler: QGD
* Buckley: Easy Guide to the QGA
* Smith, Hall: QGA

Hope this will help you on your way. Bye

Jan🙂!

Originally posted by KatrinaJ
Sadler's book is one of the best at explaining all the key ideas in detail, starting with move 1. It doesn't cover some of the main QGD systems (e.g., Cambridge Springs), but it's a great introduction.

Queen's Gambit Declined
GM Mathew Sadler
Everyman Chess, 2000, 176 pp.

Randy's Rating: 8



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If ever there was a middlegame course masquerading as an opening manual it is this book, and that alone makes it a must have for most players. In past efforts, GM Sadler has shown a remarkable ability to distill opening play down to essential characteristics that can be understood by average players. This, his latest, meets and exceeds those earlier efforts - I don't know if I ever gleaned so much sheer chess knowledge out of a single book on a single opening.

The Queen's Gambit Declined (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6) is a bedrock of opening theory, and it has been a part of the opening repertoire for either white or black of most world champions. Indeed, many, including Alekhine, Capablanca, Spassky, Karpov, and Kasparov have been happy to play either side of this opening. The opening (or at least a portion of it) was recently covered in another book by the same publisher - GM Lalic's Queen's Gambit Declined: Bg5 Systems.

Sadler employs a format familiar to those who read his earlier books on the Slav and Semi-Slav published by Cadogan books (the predecessor to Everyman Chess). The chapters are built around complete games with a summary and index of the opening moves covered at the end of each chapter. The is also an introduction at the front and an index of complete games at the back of the book.

I found both of Sadler's previous books in this format to be quite useful - the typical ideas and plans for both sides are presented with a clarity not generally found in books on contemporary opening theory. This one is even better. The author constructs the chapters as a sort of Socratic dialogue between an inquisitive pupil and teacher. While this could easily slide into discussions that are either too superficial or technical, Sadler's steady hand keeps the discussion interesting but understandable.

Unfortunately, this is a better middlegame than opening book. Part of the problem stems from the "illustrative game" format that is so popular at present. The problem with this approach is that it is very easy to "misplace" important lines or variations. In the older, "tree" approach to variations, the more systematic method of presenting the analysis allowed the reader to quickly find alternate lines. In the illustrative game method you often must hunt among multiple games (or even chapters) to try to find these other lines. In many cases, they simply do not exist. Indeed, I've come to the conclusion that a detailed index is absolutely critical for the illustrative game opening book - unfortunately, they rarely are included.

Sadler covers some of the Queen's Gambit Declined very well, but he doesn't come close to dealing with all of it. The areas covered well include the Lasker Variation (3..Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.Bg5 0-0 6.e3 h6 7.Bh4 Ne4), the Orthodox Variation (6...Nbd7), the Tartakower Variation (6...h6 7.Bh4 b6), the Exchange Variation (3...Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 and 3...Be7 4.cxd5 exd5) and systems with Bxf6 (5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 or 5...0-0 6.e3 h6 7.Bxf6). The book also provides 9 pages on 5.Bf4, on which Colin Crouch wrote an outstanding book. This is basically an update of that material.

While these variations are key battlegrounds in this opening, there are plenty of viable black alternatives that get little or no coverage. Perhaps the best example is the Cambridge Springs (4...Nbd7 5.Nf3 c6 6.e3 Qa5), which has been played from time to time by at least a couple of world champions. There is also only cursory coverage of a couple other key lines, including the very sharp Vienna variation. I also think the material is a bit more dated than in Lalic's book.

In conclusion, Sadler has done another fine job of explaining an opening based on its key concepts and themes. He has done an outstanding job of describing how and why certain plans are adopted in the variations he covers. While the coverage is probably not sufficient to be the only book in a library on this variation, the treatment of what is here is compelling enough to make it a great purchase for most players under 2000 ELO strength.

Copyright Randy Bauer, all rights reserved.


For reference I copied Randy Bauer's review on Sadler's book. Apparently one also needs the Lalic one. Success!

Jan